The Professional
by ireadffatmyjob
Summary: Edward is a hitman. When he learns that his new assignment is to be protected and not killed, Edward will break all of the rules.
1. Preface

Preface

This is real life. This isn't a happily ever after story. Come to think of it, I think we're far from it actually. You ask me 6 months ago if I would ever find myself in this situation, or -predicament is a better word for it. I would laugh in your face and tell you "No way, Edward Cullen doesn't do anything half-assed."

Now, the conflicting question is, if I didn't do anything half assed, then why am I face to face with death at this very moment?

I am a contract killer- a hitman. I was born with this lifestyle running through my veins. My father, runs the largest, most organized assassination team in the history of mankind. We take jobs requested by some of the most powerful people in the world. If you wanted someone offed, we were your guys. Why me and not my brothers you ask? Well that was the same question that I asked my father when I was younger. "I see more of myself in you more and more each day that passes." My father said.

Now don't get me wrong, we don't kill people just because you asked for it. The people we kill deserve to die. These people have done some horrible evil things in their lifetime. When they think they are the most invincible, that's actually when they are the most weak and we step in and assess the situation before things get out of control. One thing that I've noticed in the organized crime world and also in the "government" world is that they don't like for things to get so - loud. If someone is letting the power get to their head then we have to nip it in the bud before things get messy.

We are considered vigilantes in a way. This was our way of "giving back" to the community. Hell, the world. We were contracted to dispose of our targets, not to protect them. So when I was given this assignment to protect the reason of my current situation, I had no idea what I was getting myself into and had no idea that this would make me break all of my rules that I created to protect myself.

My name is Edward Cullen, and I'll start at the beginning.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

6 Months Earlier

_Beep.. beep.. beep_

The sound of my alarm clock blaring through my ears wakes me up from a dreamless sleep. I never dream anymore. The last dream that I had was when I was 10 years old and I was on a roof top with my father, Carlisle Cullen on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. He had a bolt-action M40A3 sniper rifle in his hands and was passing it to me. He showed me the target that was supposed to be taken down and taught me how to aim. "This is my life, Edward. I take down guilty people, people that have done wrong in this world Edward." Dad explained to me with a cautious look in his face. He explained to me who this target was and why he was being killed. "Extortion to little children", dad said. "I thought this would be the best first target for you. To help you understand why I do this Edward." I lined the scope to the targets head, Michael Newton was his name. "Now you will feel a kick back when you pull the trigger but I'll be here holding you so that you don't miss your target. Now take a deep breath and hold it in to steady your aim." Dad whispered in my ear and he put me in position. As I held my breath I could hear my own heartbeat accelerating as I pulled the trigger and saw the target before me fall face first into the sandy beach. That was when I woke up and decided that it was time I learned about the family business.

I went down the stairs and walked straight to the kitchen in my bath robe and put the coffee to start brewing. I went back upstairs and started my morning routine which consisted of shower, shave and the many failed attempts to style my hair. I don't know why I bother any more. I sprayed some Euphoria by Calvin Klein and looked at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a white button down shirt and matching tie. I looked at my watch to check the time and saw that it was 7:45 and I needed to get a move on if I was going to make it to the meeting on time. I ran down the stairs and quickly poured the coffee in a to-go thermos grabbed my keys and my recently cleaned Glock .45. It was a chrome finish with a black handle and I always kept it clean. As I walked to my car I grabbed newspaper from the front porch and proceeded to climb into my black Mercedes S550.

While driving on the highway towards the city, I began to go over all of my accomplishments in life. Aside from my "vigilante" lifestyle I also had some businesses set up. I own 3 of the hottest night clubs in Miami. Two of them are in Miami Beach and I have one in the Downtown Area. I had my brothers Jasper and Emmett run the two clubs down at the beach, but I ran the main club of Miami, which is where I'm headed to now. It's Friday and it's the start of the weekend and I need to make sure that my staff is well aware of the consequences that will follow if they allow another swarm of people into the club like they did last week which caused some problems to brew and well let's just say that some people don't know how to act in the presence of alcohol.

"Good morning Mr. Cullen, the crew is here and waiting for you to begin today's meeting." Oscar said as he opened my car door and waited for me to exit the vehicle in order to park it. Oscar was my valet parking supervisor. He was about 5'8", medium build and a tan complexion. He was 30 years old and from some island somewhere in the Caribbean. I didn't really care where he was from, all I cared about was the fact that he never let me down. I never had to worry about the parking situation since he always took care of everything in that particular area.

"Good morning Oscar. Make sure to park it so that I can drive off easily. This is going to be a quick meeting with absolutely no chance for any of them to even get a word in." I said as I walked to the back door of the club leading to the main floor.

"Go easy on them Mr. Cullen, they don't have any control over how people act." Oscar said sheepishly. I just waved him off and kept walking into the building.

As I walked in, everyone was running around making sure that the liquor bottles were filled and the bars looking immaculate. Even the interior designer was already running around making some last minute adjustments for tonight's private party. Some local designer was throwing a party tonight to release his new line of clothing. What was his name…? Giancarlo? I'll have to ask Alice to run that by me again before I leave.

"Edward, it's about time you got here! I have been wondering what to do about these drapes over in the VIP section. Do you like this plum color or do you want to keep the gold how we talked about in the beginning? See we have lots gold everywhere and I think if we keep gold then it will be overpowered-" I knew that voice anywhere. That shrilly, ear piercing voice was no other than my marketing department, my interior designer and my lovely little sister in law. Measuring at 5'2", she was little but Lord was she mean and aggressive. You couldn't just say no to Alice, she knew how to get to you without you even realizing that she's had you the whole time!

"Alice, please. Can this wait until after I'm done taking my frustration out on my staff? You're the girl here, you pick the color. This is all going back to the original color scheme when this party is over with tonight." I complained to her as I was scrolling through my emails in my iPhone. I was midway through replying to one important email in particular when Alice ripped the phone from my hands and gave me the most exasperated look I have ever seen. "Edward Cullen, this is not going back to normal. We discussed TWO WEEKS ago that this party was also going to be the unveiling of the newly remodeled "pLace"! I cannot believe that you are totally oblivious to this! Didn't Angela run this by you? How else did you set up a budget for this renovation if you were not aware of this?" Alice looked like she was about to be sick. Alice never did anything unless running it by me first. I ran my hand through my hair and took my phone back from Alice's tiny hands. "Alice, handle it. If Angela gave you a budget, then work with it. I'll talk to Angela about it later." I waved Alice off because if I never did then I wouldn't get this meeting over with and I had other things to do today. "Don't forget your tux at the – oh, never mind! I'll just tell Angela-"Alice was chirping away but I stopped her midsentence. "Do what you have to do Alice. I'll see you here at 7:30 pm sharp."

I had Alec, my right-hand man and also best friend round up the troops. I've known Alec since I was 11 years old. He knows all about the family business and helps out with all my other business when he knows that I can't. I know I can always count on him for anything and everything. We were so close that people usually thought we were brothers. We both are the same height, but he had a reddish brown tint to his hair and was always slicked back. He was slim but cut at the same time.

"Okay, first order of business," I ran my hand through my hair one more time and cleared my throat. "Now as you all know of our little incident last week. I expect everyone to be on their toes tonight, especially my bouncers. We are going to have a full house tonight because the new release of Giancarlo…"

"Gianini!" Alice yelled from behind the bar.

"… yes Giancarlo Gianini's clothing line. Now I don't expect for things to get out of hand but there will be a lot of intoxicated people and I expect all of you to keep things in order. I will be here for the first part of the evening, but will have to take care of some other things, so Alice, I expect everything to be in top order and I'll send Jasper over later to help you closing out the place tonight. Am I making myself clear here people? "All the bartenders and waitresses mumbled "Yes Mr. Cullen," and got back to work.

As I walked back out into the blistering Miami heat, my phone buzzed with a text message from my father.

_New Assignment. My office in 10. _

A slight smile formed at my lips as I put on my Ray Band sunglasses and walked over to the benz. I put the car in drive and sped on to the interstate on-ramp and made my way to my father's office.

I pulled up to my father's office and headed towards the elevator. I had my own parking spot at my father's office. I took the liberty of running over to Moe's and got some breakfast burritos for us and two coffees. "Good morning Edward, I'll let your father know that you're here." Mrs. Cope, my father's assistant greeted. Mrs. Cope has been my father's assistant for 20 years, maybe more. She always had these motherly tendencies even though she never had any kids herself. After 20 years, I grew to love her as part of the family and not just an employee of my father's. "Your father is just finishing up a phone call, give him about 5 minutes and you can go right on in." Mrs. Cope smiled sweetly at me. "Sure thing Mrs. Cope." I said to her while I sat down in the waiting area.

My father's office was quiet on the top floor of a small building just south of the county line, near the beach. The office was decorated in business like tones, beige, light browns and the occasional splash of color on a painting hanging up on the wall. I looked at my watch and saw the 5 minutes of waiting was up and I walked over to my father's office.

"Edward, good morning, this assignment is not something that we normally come across." My dad eyed me speculatively and handed me the manila folder with all of my new targets information. I skimmed through the paper work and noticed something odd, this wasn't a typical assignment. I kept the manila folder open in my hands and looked up at my father, "Why a woman? Or better yet, why a 25 year old woman? She's only 25, not nearly as much time to do something worth killing her for." I kept looking through the paperwork to see why I would need to off this person while I waited for my father to reply. Dad cleared his throat and said "Edward, you're not killing her. You are protecting her."

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><p><strong>AN: So this is my first fan fic. My posts should come every couple of days or so, a once a week is like last resort. I dont want this to be a typical "love" story. Since i dont have a BETA, any reviews and any ideas that you guys have will be greatly appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Twilight!

Chapter 2

I had to let the words sink in before responding.

"What do you mean protecting her? I don't get hired to protect people; I get hired to kill people that need to be killed. You out of all people should know that, dad!" I was now shouting. I couldn't believe this. Why does this- person need protecting? I pinched the bridge of my nose and let out a gust of air. At this moment I don't feel like a professional, I feel like a rookie that needs to prove himself before taking on a bigger assignment.

"Edward I am giving you this assignment because this will give you the chance to take down our number one target. " Dad said as he removed his glasses and leaned back in his black leather office chair. I immediately stopped skimming over the file and look at my father with wide eyes. "Aro Volturi." I said, and it was barely a whisper. "Elaborate, please!" I demanded.

With a loud sigh, Carlisle began his explanation. "Your assignment's name is Isabella Swan. She's 25 and the ex-girlfriend or ex-wife or ex-whatever you want to call it of Aro Volturi. Isabella has been with Aro since she was 21 and fresh out of college. Isabella was aware that Aro was bringing women from other countries over to the states. However, Aro tricked her into believing that he brought these women and teenage girls over to have them start a new life and to be able to support their families back in their home countries. But when Isabella found out that these women and teenage girls were being used as prostitutes on the west coast, well, she got up and left Aro without a word. I wouldn't say that she left him, Aro would have killed her before she would have had a chance to pack her suit case. The night that she left, Aro sent some of his men to go look for her. They found her car on some desert road on the California boarder completely totaled and burnt to a crisp. Apparently she faked her death in order to escape. Two months after her fake death, Aro received an anonymous phone call stating that Isabella was alive. They did not provide any additional information. Sources state that Aro has hired Jacob Black to find her and get rid of her. "Jacob Black. I can't even think of any other words to include in the same sentence. This man was ruthless, the exact opposite of my father and I. He exterminated men, women and children if needed. I could never kill an innocent child. A woman, well it depends.

"Why do they want her dead?" I asked Carlisle, except I already knew the answer. She knew too much. "Isabella has some information that can put Aro Volturi away for life. But I don't want him behind bars Edward, I want him dead." He said it so low that I wasn't sure I heard him right. "But the problem is that the agency won't put a hit on him." That didn't make sense. All the agency needed was a little bit of proof and they put the hit out in minutes. "Do you think he has bought someone at the agency?" I asked Carlisle trying to put two and two together.

"I'm not sure Edward, when I bring up Aro's name up in the agency every time a new hit gets put out, Bruce just says that there's not enough proof." Carlisle explained.

"What am I to do with her, Carlisle? Take her to the beach? I don't know a thing about this. I just know how to kill." I put my head in my hands trying to think of a way out of this. "She works at the Starbucks in the Midtown Mall, in Wynwood. Meet her, get to know her. But Edward, please protect her by all means necessary. She is a very valuable asset to this assignment and she may be the key to finally approving a hit on Aro Volturi. Here, this is how she looks like." Carlisle handed me a Polaroid picture of her working. I studied the picture; she was cute, petite, long brown hair, big brown eyes. I placed all of the documents along with her picture back into the manila folder and stood up to leave. "Edward." Carlisle called, "This is important, don't screw this up." I just rolled my eyes and strolled out of the office, down the elevator and into my S550.

2 hours later, I finally park my car in a space that is not only near the door but distant from other cars. See, I love my car and I cannot have anyone or anything destroying it much less have even a scratch on it. "Goodness, why here?" I asked to no one in particular. Midtown Mall was on the dividing line of expensive homes, and the area of Miami where the largest distribution of Heroin is located. It's one of those neighborhoods where they are knocking everything down and getting rid of the poor, drug addicts that infest this area and replacing it with new apartment buildings and new houses for the rich people to move to. I walk into the mall, and instantly I am bombarded with women trying to sell all their products to me while trying to show all the cleavage that they possible can without having their tits spill out in the process. My plan: keep walking. If Emmet were here and single he would have gotten each and every single number from each of these women. Why not me? Well, I'm not interested in romance or love or any type of intimate relationship. Sure I had girls that I could call if I ever got lonely, but that was it. It never went beyond sex.

I walked into the Macy's where the Starbucks is located and pretended to look at some clothes while I caught sight of her. _Hmm… its 12pm. Carlisle said her shift started at 12pm… _I was just about to call Carlisle to confirm her shift when I caught sight of her. She was wearing that offensive green colored polo shirt that said Starbucks on the corner and khaki Bermuda shorts with black low top converse. Her hair was picked up into a pony tail with her Starbucks visor on her head and her apron draped over her shoulder. It didn't matter what she was wearing. She could have been wearing a cow costume and she still would have looked absolutely beautiful. _Careful Edward, we don't shit where we eat._

The only way I can start to protect her is to actually meet her. So I walked up to the line at Starbucks and started looking at the menu_. God, I hate this place. Why does there have to be 25 different types of coffee? Caramel, mocha, vanilla lattes with or without foam_… after a few moments staring at the menu I heard someone clear their throat. That distracted me and caused me to look down at my new assignment. I guess she realized she was staring rather rudely and then closed her mouth and blushed this amazing shade of pink that covered most of her cheeks. "Can I help you? You seem a bit lost." Her voice was shaky, like if she was nervous.

I smiled my crooked smile at her and said "Well, Bella-" her name was on her nametag "I just want a regular coffee with 2 creams and 2 sugars. I know it's probably not on the menu but one should be able to order a regular coffee at a coffee shop." I said matter of factly. She pressed a couple of different buttons on the cash register and rang me up. I gave her a five and put the change in the tip jar. I was about to walk away to wait for my coffee when she spoke up. "Umm sir? I would need your name so that I can call you when it's ready." I looked back at her and said "Edward."

I stood next to the counter and watched as she wrote my name of the cup and continued to fix my coffee. It fascinated just to watch her move around. "Here you go, Edward." She said as she handed me my cup. Even then way she said my named sparked something inside me. I took a one of my business card and handed it to her and said "Here you go, Bella." She took the card from my hand and I leaned over and told her, "My club is looking to hire some new people and I'd love for you to come down for an interview. "

She looked at the card and smiled slightly and said "Thanks but, no thanks. I mean no disrespect when I say this but I've dealt with your type before and I'm not interested in being some slutty looking dancer in some cage on stage, nor am I interested in being some barmaid for these intoxicated men that think just because they throw around a hundred dollar bill they can grab on me. " And handed the business card back to me. _What the fuck? Barmaid..? Dancer…? _I realized that this was going to be difficult. In order to watch over her and protect her, I needed to get her out of this piece of shit dead end job and get her over to my side of town. I ignored her out stretched hand and said in a very professional matter. "I don't run any kind of strip club if that's what you're thinking, and I don't have any women dancing in cages. I treat my employees with the respect that they deserve, and I believe that you don't know a thing about "my type"." –I made sure to the air quotations to make my point. By this point her expression was one of surprise that I would have that kind of response. "The position I have available is not degrading in any sense. If you are interested, you can give me a call. I hope to hear from you Bella. Sooner rather than later that is." With that, I took my coffee and walked back out of the store.

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><p><strong>AN: So.. what do we think about Bella? Remember shes been through alot with her faking her own death and all. We cant just have her being all friendly with people she doesnt know. i mainly wanted this story to be in Edwards POV, but as i was puttign my outline together i realized i may just need to put a couple of chapters with her POV so thats coming soon most likely next chapter. I did want to post this chapter yesterday but i was having a bit of writers block. so i'll be working on ch 3 this weekend. meanwhile, leave me some reviews.. i want to know whats on your minds. seee ya :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!

Chapter 3

BPOV

I need a new job. My roommate Michelle was getting married in a month and was officially moving out of our 2 bedroom apartment in less than two weeks to move into Rodney's place so that way they didn't have to worry about any of that once they got married. Sure I had some money saved up. Shit, most of that money was what I took with me when I left Aro two months ago. More than half of that money was used to pay my portion of the rent and utilities since I had an extremely finding a job and now that I found one, I was working part time at a Starbucks inside a Macy's in the Midtown Mall. God my life sucks.

"Michelle?" I called out once I unlocked the door to our apartment and walked in, placing my bag and apron on one of the chairs in our dining room table. I guess Michelle was not home yet since no one answered. I should have realized that when I walked in and all the lights were off. She's probably sleeping over at Rodney's tonight. I looked at the clock on the microwave and saw that I was almost eleven. I decided to just get a glass of milk and go take a shower. Since I was new, they had me working the late shift and I had to close every time I was scheduled to work. Luckily, my co-worker Sandra had a doctor's appointment tomorrow and needed to come in later, so I took the chance and switch shifts with her.

I downed the glass of milk while getting my pajamas ready and set everything in the bathroom. I turned on the shower and let the steam fill the room while I looked at myself in the mirror. Originally my hair was cut into short layers sweeping around my shoulders. Once I left Aro, I bought some extensions and had them installed and dyed my hair a darker shade of brown. I loved my brown hair so I definitely didn't want to make a drastic change like that and now my hair was now at my lower back. I sighed and headed to take a quick shower. Once I finished I jumped into bed and quickly passed out.

The next morning, I quickly got dressed and my way to work. Luckily I didn't live so far from Starbucks it was 30 minutes walking. When I got to work, our district manager, Chuck, was there. As soon as I punched in, Chuck cleared his throat and said, "So Bella, as you know Rachel is going on leave in about two weeks and we are looking for a new manager to take over and I was wondering if you would be up for the job. " Rachel was pregnant and due in a few weeks so she was going on maternity leave. I think she was just going to quit altogether but she never mentioned anything.

"I would love to take over the position Chuck; I could definitely use the extra hours and money since I have to move out of my apartment soon." I told Chuck while I was tying my apron.

"Technically I would have to promote someone who has been here longer than a month but I am willing to make an exception for a favor in return." Chuck was running his eyes up and down my body and attempting to pull off a seductive smile. Chuck was 35, a little bit on the heavy set side and balding. "You are very attractive, you know." He ran his hand down my arm.

I cleared my throat a moved out of his reach. "I'm sorry Chuck, but am I getting the impression that you want me to sleep with you so that you can promote me to manager?" I asked distastefully.

"We can have some fun, you and I."

"Look Chuck, this is an extremely tempting offer but I am going to have decline." I said sarcastically. "I would not degrade myself to such a low level just to get a little bit of extra money and some extra hours at work."

Chuck crossed his arms and said "Bella, if you are not going to accept my offer, I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to have you working here. I can't have you running to someone higher up and let them know of my little proposal."

"You know what, Chuck?" I said his name with a sneer, "Don't worry about having to fire me because I quit." With that I took off my apron and stormed out.

As I was walking home, silent tears started to roll down my cheeks. I looked through my black Nike drawstring bag trying to find my cell phone. As I'm looking for my cellphone, I come across the business card that this Edward guy gave me. I spent the rest of the way home debating whether or not to call him. Just yesterday I accused him of trying to hire me as a stripper or something equally degrading. He took me by surprise with his response. He seems so sure of himself with that bronze colored hair all wild and untamed like he just rolled out of bed, with those piercing and intense green eyes.

I decided to just put my pride aside and give him a call. What's the worst that could happen? He'll say that he's not interested and I'm back to square one trying to find a job. After 3 rings, he answered the phone.

"Cullen speaking." Edward answered.

"Hi – Edward, it's – umm Bella, from the Starbucks? You gave me your business card yesterday." I started rambling. I just shut up and let him respond.

"Oh, Bella, I knew you would call but just not so soon. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Er, I was calling you because I was wondering if that job opening at your club was still available." I bit my bottom lip anxiously. I hope he just doesn't laugh at me and send me to go fly a kite.

"Yes, I do. Come by this afternoon around one for lunch? I can interview you then."

"Ok, great. I'll see you at one."

"The address in on the card, see you then." And the line clicked.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was just past ten in the morning. I needed to dress in interview appropriate clothing and needed to get all the way downtown. I rank sacked my closet and settled for a black pencil skirt and a white button down blouse and some black pumps. I took a curling Iron to the ends of my hair and applied some mascara, blush and some gloss.

I made it to downtown in record time even though I was taking the bus. I noticed that the name of the club was called "pLace". _How original. It is a place after all._

I opened the door to the club and just when I was about to walk in, I was blocked by this big bulky guard dressed in all black.

"Excuse me mam, but where do you think you're going?" The guard asked with a stern voice.

"I have an appointment with Edward Cullen for a job opening. He told me to meet him here for lunch." I said nervously.

"Luis- she's okay, she's with me." Edward came down the stairs and walked over to me. "Hello Bella," he shook my hand "come with me, I'll show you around." I walked into the club and I see a crew cleaning up from last night's events. The club was elegant looking. Dark purples and gold drapery filled the walls. Tables and booth seating were along the walls. The bars are all in black and glass shelving to hold all the liquor bottles with lighting from all angles. I followed Edward up the stainless steel railed circular stair case into what looked more like the office section of the club.

"This is where we do all the work during the day. Set up meetings with DJ's, do marketing work along with payroll, and we also rent the place out for parties from time to time. Just yesterday we had the place rented out to this local designer that was showing his new line." Edward was explaining as we kept walking down to the end of the hall. He pointed to the left and said "This is my office," He continued walking and we stopped at the last office at the end of the hall. "And this here is your office. My sister in law Alice will take you to lunch and answer any questions that you may have. She will also explain what your job will be. "His phone chirped, he checked it and said, "I have a meeting to go to. Give me a call if you have any problems or if Alice gives you a hard time. She's tiny but forceful. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable and Alice will be here any minute." He turned and walked right out while typing away on his phone.

I looked around the office and I was stunned. Expensive looking art work lined the walls and a big bookcase in the corner. In the center of the room there was a giant mahogany desk that must weigh a ton and a brand new IMac sitting on top. I was just about to sit down in the plush leather office chair when a short young woman about my age with spikey black hair waltzed in with a huge smile on her face. This must be Alice.

"Hello, you must be Bella! My name is Alice and I am Edward's sister-in law. I pretty much handle the marketing and PR work around here as well as the interior decorating for his other two clubs. I also run the place when Edward isn't here." She was laughing. "I'm here to take you to lunch and explain your job specifications." She didn't even let me respond. She grabbed my hand and yanked me down the hallway.

Forceful indeed, this should be interesting.

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><p><strong>AN: EDWARD WAS VERY SHORT IN THIS CHAPTER. HE WAS A BIT DOUCHEY OVER THE PHONE WITH BELLA BUT WE ALL KNOW WHY. WE HAVE ALOT THAT IS GOING TO GO ON IN THE NEXT FEW CHAPTERS. BELLA NEEDS A PLACE TO LIVE NOW THAT HE ROOMY IS MOVING OUT. SOOOO I'LL POST ANOTHER ONE IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.. UNTIL THEN, JUST LEAVE ME A REVIEW AND GIVE ME SOME OPINIONS AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD TO SEE IN THIS STORY.. IM STILL WORKING ON MY OUTLINE OF THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO HAPPEN SO THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. BUT DEFINITELY HAVE SOME SURPRISES IN STORE.** SEE YA! :)


	5. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

Chapter 4 – BPOV

We pulled up to a local Latin restaurant called "Sergio's" a few miles west of the club. I was not surprised when there was already a table saved for us when we walked in. As soon as we sat down, a bubbly waiter named Mario came over to greet us. "Señora Alice, it's been a long time!" Mario exclaimed. I could tell by his strong accent that he was from somewhere in the Caribbean. "Too long," Alice responded "We'll start off with two iced teas please; and bring mine with lots of lemon." Alice looked at me to verify if that was ok. "Iced tea is fine." I confirmed. "I'll let you two look over the menu while I get your tea." Mario stated and then disappeared behind the kitchen doors.

"So, Bella; tell me about yourself! Where are you from? Do you have any siblings?" Alice asked animatedly.

I gave Alice a sly smile and started telling her about my hometown. "I come from a small town in Washington called Forks. I pretty much lived there my whole life and decided that it was time to get out of the constant cover of clouds and rain. When I graduated high school, I decided to go to college in California where the weather was a lot nicer. I'm an only child, my mother did try to have another baby after me but she miscarried after 3 months. She never tried again after that, she said it was too painful to go through another miscarriage."

Alice looked at me sympathetically but changed the subject quickly, "So if California was so nice, what brought you to the wonderful city of Miami?" She waved her arms in a circular motion like if worked on the Price is Right.

"I- uh- I just needed a change of scenery and Miami is on the other side of the country, also I don't have to worry about earthquakes. But enough about me, I don't like the spot light. Tell me about you?" I said quickly trying to change the subject.

That was like turning on a faucet but not being able to turn it off. Alice went on and on about her husband Jasper and their cat named Skittles. She continued to tell me about how she is an interior designer and handled all the P.R. work for "pLace", which she was forever grateful that I was coming on board to take over. Mario came back with our drinks, proceeded to take our order and then left again.

"Down to business," Alice said all serious while pulling out what looked like a notebook with lots of papers inside. "As you know you will be handling all the P.R. work for the club as well as handling the promoters that work for us." Alice handed me a couple of papers that were stapled together. On the papers was the list of names along with their picture. "This is the list of the promoters that work for us, please get familiarized with the faces next to the names. We have a lot of wannabe's that will try to get in under a promoters name. The bouncers normally take care of this but since you will be in the club at night it wouldn't hurt for you to be familiarized with everyone's face." I nodded while looking through the list, I would get familiarized with this later at home.

"Promoters have until midnight to get everyone on their list, through the doors. The girls downstairs will place a check mark by each promoters name for everyone they bring through. That list will then be taken upstairs to you in order to get the correct amounts to pay each promoter. The promoters are paid $7 per person they bring into the club. The club opens on Fridays and Saturdays and the occasional Sunday if there is a legal holiday on Monday and a separate list is to be made each night and forwarded to the payroll department via email. We hold weekly meetings Friday mornings in order to give us time to process the checks for the promoters and all the other employees that worked for us the weekend before."

"Alice, I'm sorry but I don't mean to complain or anything but this doesn't sound like P.R. work." I sated sheepishly.

"I know that, silly! This may not be considered P.R. work but those lists will show us over time if we need to step up the promoting a bit more. The number of guests on those lists usually increase every week but we like to go through this just in case. But you are to handle any articles that any magazines or newspapers would like to write about the club. After all, you will be representing the club everywhere you go." Alice smiled. "You will also be setting up meetings with and DJ's that would like to perform. You only set up the meetings; Marlon our head DJ will listen to the demo's and decide whether or not it will be good for the club. Once he makes the decision you and him will go over the time slots and set up a schedule that would work best with the ambience of the club." Alice must have seen the look of bewilderment on my face because she quickly said, "I know it sounds like a lot but really it's. We are only open two days a week and sometimes three, but the work atmosphere is pretty laid back so you have nothing to worry about." Alice confirmed.

A few minutes later Mario came with our food and we started to dig in. Midway through our meal Alice took me by surprise when she just blurted out, "So what do you think of Edward?" She had this innocent look on her face like if she was asking me about the weather.

I took me a minute to really come up with an answer but I finally said, "I think he's very trusting, considering he gave me a job after only knowing me for 10 minutes."

Alice raised an eye brow and kept eating. "I think he likes you."

When she said that, I was sipping on my tea and literally choked on it and started coughing like crazy. "Alice I don't think that's accurate. He's been very short and professional with me and either way I'm not interested in him like that. If I was interested in hooking up with the boss I would have not quit my last job."

"I still think he likes you. I know my brother in law and he's easy to read, at least for me."

"Sure Alice."

We finished our food and drove back to the club where Alice showed me how to use some of the system to keep track of appointments and interviews. She even helped me set up my email and we went around the club and she introduced me to the bouncers and everyone else and pretty much threatened to hurt them if they gave me a hard time. I'll admit, that made me laugh a little. Overall, everyone was very welcoming.

"Okay Bella, get your stuff and go home, take a nap and I need you to be here no later than eight o'clock. This is your first night so I want you to meet all of the promoters that will be here at that time. Next weekend you won't have to show up for work until ten. "Alice was pretty much pushing me down the stairs. I said goodbye to everyone and walked out the door. Today was going to be a crazy night but like Alice said, it shouldn't be too hard. Tonight is the night to make a good impression.

As I sat at the bus stop I was thinking about what Alice had said today at lunch. Edward liked me? No way, that couldn't be possible. Sure he was amazingly sexy with those green eyes and that bronze hair, but the way he acted around me didn't go with Alice's opinion. Either way I couldn't afford to get into that kind of a situation right now. I'm pretty sure that Aro has already found out that I am alive and he would eventually find me. My goal is to save up as much money as possible and get the fuck out of this country before the year is over. That means that I have 6 months to get enough money together so that I can go to a place where no one knew my name. I couldn't even be on the same continent, so Canada was out of the question. Maybe Brazil, or somewhere in the United Kingdom, but I have been here for two months already and nothing to show for it.

In the middle of my thoughts, I hear a car pull up to a stop. When I look up I see Edward smirking at me, he takes off his aviators and asks, "Need a ride?"

"Thanks, but the bus should be here any minute." I said not moving from my place on the bench.

"Stop trying to be a hard ass Bella and get in. It's extremely hot out and you, my friend are sweating bullets. I'm just taking you home, it's not like I'm kidnapping you or something." That smirk, still on his face.

I looked at the time and saw that I had only a couple of hours before I had to be back and if Edward did give me a ride it would half the time it normally would on the bus. I wanted a shower and a nap. Getting up I said, "Fine." Once I was in I turned to Edward, he had his aviators back on and was always weaving through traffic. "Thanks for the ride. You saved me about 45 minutes." I said and I put on my seat belt.

"No worries, I was headed north anyways. So, where am I taking you?"

"79th street and North Miami Avenue, there's an apartment building on that corner called Costa Del Sol."

We stopped at a red light just before getting on the interstate, and Edward looked over at me, "You've got to be kidding me, Bella. That is an extremely bad neighborhood. Nothing but drug dealers and drug addicts live and hang out there. That's like one of the most famous heroin spots in this whole city. You live there alone?" When I looked at him, he had concern written all over his face.

"No, I live with my roommate Michelle. It's relatively quiet I haven't had any trouble living there. But either way I need to move out in less than 2 weeks. Michelle is getting married in a month and is moving in with her fiancé Rodney before the wedding so they don't have to worry about moving and just go on their honey moon."

"You should find something closer to the club, since you don't have car you shouldn't be taking bus at 2 or 3 in the morning after working." Edward kept looking at the road his tone all serious.

"I'll be going apartment hunting tomorrow anyways."

"Did Alice show you everything that you will be doing?"

"Yes, and she introduced me to everyone as well. Which reminds me, I need to study the list of promoters that work for us." I began searching through my bag to make sure that I had brought it with me.

"Alice won't be there all night. She'll just introduce you to the bouncers and then she has to help out Jasper at my other club down at the beach. So I'll be around tonight in case you run into any difficulties."

We pull up to my apartment and I bather my bag and start to get out.

"I'll be here at seven." Edward said curtly.

Caught off guard, "Okay, thanks for the ride again." I closed the door and headed into my apartment building as Edward sped off. _He is just too weird._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey guys sorry for the delay in posting.. things have been a little bit hectic at home i have been just too tired to write but i have spent the week writing little bits while at work. I'm looking for a beta so anyone that is experienced in that field and would like to beta my chapters and give me some opinions. i would greatly appreciate it. :) hope you guys enjoy i had a particularly rough time writing this chapter so i hope it didn't totally suck :) i might start to update just once a week. If i cant update sooner then i will but for write now i'll start updating thursday night or even friday night. peace out ya'll :)**_  
><em>


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5- EPOV

**DISCLAIMER**: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!

"How are things going?" Carlisle asked as I was sipping on some orange juice. I left the club about 4 am and took Bella home, I didn't get to actually fall asleep until about 6am. It is now 9 am and I am sitting in my kitchen with my father because he would refuse to leave after I told him on the phone repeatedly that I was sleeping.

I downed the last of the juice in the cup, "Things are going okay I guess. It was a little bit difficult in the beginning because of her atrocious job at Starbucks; it was difficult for me to be able to watch her. But according to Alice she quit her job because she refused to have sex with her boss in order to be promoted. Luckily for me, I gave her my business card the day before."

Carlisle just raised an eye brow and motioned his hands for me to continue. "Anyways, I relieved Alice of her P.R. duties at my club and offered them to Bella instead. Of course Bella thought that I was offering her a position in my club as a stripper but I made it perfectly clear that it wasn't a stripping position that was available. Last night was her first night and it went pretty well." I said as I tried to stifle a yawn.

Carlisle didn't look pleased with my actions. "The club is a little bit too far from her apartment to be taking the bus during those hours, Edward. You are supposed to make sure that nothing happens to her, not letting her take the night owl into Wynwood." Carlisle sat down in the dining room table and started flipping through the newspaper that he brought in from outside this morning.

"I know and I have already found a solution." Carlisle looked at me with one hand on the newspaper about to flip the page. "Her roommate is getting married and is moving out on Wednesday. Bella, has not been able to find a place near the club for a suitable amount of money, so I was thinking about renting out the guest house to her so that way I can take her to work and back and keep a better eye on her." Carlisle cocks his head to the side and shrugs his shoulders. "Good luck with that. Jacob Black is in Washington, I guess he figured that she would go back to her home town although there's nothing left for her there." Carlisle got up to leave, "Where are her parents? Do they think she's dead too?" I stopped him from walking out of the room.

"Edward, her parents are dead. They died in some freak car accident when Bella was in college." Carlisle sighed, "Don't bring up the subject."

"Got it, now leave. I need to sleep I have to go to the office later on today." I pushed my dad out the door and slammed it. I didn't give him a chance to respond.

I went back upstairs and jumped back in bed. I knew I wouldn't go back to sleep but I just wanted to close my eyes.

When I opened my eyes and checked my phone it was three hours later and I had 15 missed calls. Ten were from Alice, four were from Emmett and one was from Jasper. I had one voice mail and I knew it was from Jasper. Alice nor Emmett ever liked leaving voicemail. I decide to listen to it while I'm walking to the bathroom.

"_Edward, Jasper here. I hope you didn't forget about our little lunch at 1:30. We all just got here so I hope you are on your way. Alice said to bring Bella. I don't know why, but she just said to bring her."_

I checked my watch and it was 12:45 and called Bella, I don't know what the fuck Alice wants with her but I don't need people getting attached to her. She's just a business assignment.

"_Hello?"_

"Bella, it's Edward; what are you doing right now?"

"_Just packing a couple of things since I have to move on Wednesday, I decided to get a head start packing up."_

"I have a lunch I need to get to with my brothers and their wives. Alice made it extremely important that you come with me. I'm not sure as to why but she said that I better not show up without you. So I need you to be ready in 30 minutes. Lunch is at 1:30pm."

There was silence for about 30 seconds I thought the line disconnected. "_Ok see you then."_

"Great." I shut the phone and went to take a shower.

Thirty minutes later I was pulling up to Bella's apartment building and Bella was already out front waiting for me. She was wearing dark skinny jeans a white button down blouse and some flat sandals. I just still couldn't understand how a beautiful girl like her got tied up with the likes of Aro. What did she ever see in him?

"Hey." Bella said as soon as she shut the car door. I sped off towards P.F. Chang's in Aventura about 20 minutes north. I gave her a nod and kept looking at the road.

After a few minutes of silence I spoke up. "So how's the apartment hunting going?"

"I'll tell you how it's not going. I can't find anything that part of town that isn't for the extremely comfortable or for the town junkie either. I have to be out by Wednesday and I don't know what to do."

"I have a proposition for you."

"Oh? And what would that be?" She looked at me with a smirk. Ha. She didn't think I was for real.

"Since you need to be out by Wednesday and you haven't found a place yet, I was thinking that you can move in with me. Well not with me, but in my guest house in the back. It has its own private entrance and a wall blocking my back yard with your area."

I stopped at a red light and turned to look at her. She had a shocked looked on her face. Finally she composed herself and chuckled lightly, "You are funny Edward Cullen." And she chuckled again. She turned to look at me and I still had a serious face because there was nothing funny about my offer.

Bella blushed a little, "Oh, you're serious." She looked down, "I don't think that will be necessary Edward, I'm sure I'll find a place by Wednesday."

"Bella, don't be so prideful. Put your pride aside for a minute or two and think about what I'm offering you. I'm just giving you a place to stay until you get on your feet and save however much money you need to save."

Bella thought about it for a minute and then said, "I'll only accept your offer if I don't find anything by Wednesday. Thank you."

"No problem." A few minutes later we pulled up to the restaurant. When we walked in, everyone was already sitting down at our usual table. Alice waved frantically I thought her hand was going to snap off her wrist.

"Hi Edward, Bella! Thanks for coming Bella, I didn't have your number so I couldn't just call you and ask how your first night went." Alice was just going off a mile a minute.

"Alice please! Let her look at the menu or something for a minute before you bombard her with questions." I complained. "Bella, these are my brothers Emmett and Jasper, and the blonde next to Emmett is his wife Rosalie. Guys, this is Bella. She took over Alice's job down at pLace." I introduced.

Emmett and Jasper gave their hello's Alice had a smile on her face and Rosalie just had a smirk on hers. I don't know what my brother sees in that girl. She only got with Emmett because I wouldn't give her the time of day. I don't have time for romance and love, just sex occasionally. Rose wanted the romance and the marriage and the babies. I didn't, and still don't. At first she just got with my brother to make me jealous, but I think that over time, she actually fell in love with him. Emmett may not be the easiest or cleanest person to live with, but he always treated women with the respect that they deserve and was always loyal. I guess that's what Rose fell in love with; she knew that he would never hurt her.

The rest of the lunch was spent with mindless chatter. I every time I looked at Bella I still couldn't believe that Aro had placed a hit on her. I mean yeah she knew too much but shit, at the same time she was harmless.

We said our goodbyes and I was going to take Bella back home but decided otherwise. "So I just wanted to show you the guest house so you have something to think about when you are looking for a place to stay." I said as I headed in the direction to my house.

"I would object but that's not going to stop you so, okay."

"Not necessarily. If you want I'll take you home." I said with a serious tone.

Bella lifted an eye brow, "Really?"

"No." I smiled my crooked smile and sped up on the highway.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up at my house. I think I heard Bella gasp but she really shouldn't. Aro must have had a place twice the size of mine. My house sat on a two acre lot in the outskirts of the city. I lived fifteen minutes from everywhere and I loved it. I typed the key code into the front gates and pulled that car up to the front door.

I took Bella through the side entrance. I rarely brought people into my home. I never liked people I didn't know well around my personal belongings. The only people that ever came to my house were my family and Tanya. Tanya is the girl I call when I ever get lonely. But that's not too often. She always tried to spend the night but I never let her.

We get to the front door of the guest house and let Bella and myself in. The place was fully furnished, only the fridge and the pantry needed to be restocked. If she moved in, I would need to give her a ride to the store or something. I showed Bella the rest of the house; it was mainly decorated with calm and neutral colors. I guess she could spice it up a bit if she wanted to. No one ever stayed here so I didn't really mind. "It's not much but it's somewhere you can stay while you get everything together."

Bella was still surprised. "Wow, this is too much I can't afford to pay you rent for this."

I rolled my eyes at her comment if she only knew why I was giving her a job and place to stay. "It's not like I need the extra money Bella. But, if it does make you feel better you can pay me whatever you pay for rent and your apartment."

Once we were back at the car, Bella stood by the door but wouldn't get in. "Are you a drug dealer or something? Is your club like a front or something?"

Was she serious? "You know Bella; your little assumptions are really getting on my nerves. I own three of the most recognized clubs in the east coast. Why would I need to sell drugs?"

Bella was going to say something but I cut her off. "Don't answer that Bella. Just get in the car. I'm taking you home." I got in the car and she got in quietly and timidly.

We were just a few miles away from Bella's apartment and neither of us had said a word. "I'm sorry Edward. That was totally out of line. You are my boss, and it's none of my business. See, I moved from California because I wanted a new start. Go somewhere where I could be anyone I wanted. I just wanted to make sure who I was working for, just in case."

"I already knew you were running from something. No one just moves from California all the way to the other extreme of the country. One would only do that if they got hired for a well-paying job or for school or something."

I pulled up to her apartment building and turned to look at her. I couldn't be mad at her. I know she just doesn't want to get mixed with the bad people again. That's not who she is. I sighed, "Bella just go inside. I'll see you on Wednesday. Just don't worry about it, apology accepted."

She smiled back, "Thanks, goodnight Edward." She closed the door and walked into the building. There is something about this girl man I tell you, and I don't know what the fuck it is.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: hey guys! sorry for the mega delay. i have had a serious case of writers block. So whats going on with Edward? Is he breaking his rules? We'll see.. so until next time. :) **


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6- EPOV

Disclaimer: **I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

"How's it coming?" I ask Alice as she walks passed me in my kitchen and out the back door towards the guest house hauling a box of Bella's stuff. The distance is shorter if she were to walk through the private entrance to the guest house. But no, she's deliberately walking through the house so that I would decide to get my ass up and help unload Bella's stuff from Jasper's truck. But when I offered my help, Bella asked me to please not help. I don't know why but whatever, I didn't feel like helping out anyways.

I haven't been sleeping that well lately. I haven't had an assignment in like two weeks and I'm starting to get edgy. I normally get an assignment every week or two. There was a time when there were no assignments for about 3 months. Thank God I have the clubs to keep me busy and generating money.

I don't kill because of the money. I kill because they deserve it. I agree to justice on people that got themselves in that predicament. Not an innocent person. No one in my family ever really understood. I mean Emmett never had the heart to be a killer like me; Jasper was the only one besides my father that really tried to understand me. He was always the person that I could go to when everything else went to shit.

I'll have to go down to the range sometime this week.

"That's the last of it. I'm going down to the club to make sure that everything is in order for Friday." Alice said as she walked in from the patio, distracting me from my thoughts. "Did you decide if you are going to be an active participant yet? It is your brother's birthday after all Edward. It would be rude not to go." Alice was staring intently at me.

"Emmett would understand. He knows what it's like for me."

"I swear." Alice nodding her head in disapproval. "Okay, how about this," she walked over to me. "How about you go to the shooting range tomorrow and Friday and clear your mind. It's just the assignment that has you all stressed out."

"You only know me so well because you are married to Jasper."

"That may be but I still know you. Now you can thank me by helping Bella unload some of her stuff. It's not much but at least welcome her." Alice gave me a quick peck on the cheek. I quickly wiped my face. I hated kisses on the cheek. They were wet and cold and made me uncomfortable. She smiled and walked toward the front door.

I call and order a pizza and decide to walk to the guest house where Bella is.

I knock on the door and wait. "Come in, it's open!" She called out.

There were boxes of clothes and books and music everywhere. I walk towards the bedroom and she's putting clothes away in the drawers. She sensed there was someone there and looked up. "Oh hey Edward, I wanted to thank you again for this place. I can't believe that no one wanted to rent to me."

"It's no problem Bella. Stop thanking me. I just came by to let you know that I ordered some pizza and was going to offer my help on unpacking." I looked around the room. What a mess.

"No thanks Edward, you don't have to help me. But I will take you up on that pizza. I'm starving and I still need to go to the store to stock the fridge." Bella was rummaging through a box of I have no idea what.

"About that, I have three cars. If you ever need to borrow the car to go to the store, you have my permission. Just take the Volvo.

And no, I need to help. If Alice finds out that I wasn't helping she will hurt me." I told her seriously.

"Ugh, ok fine." She pushed a box on books at me. "Let's go put these in the bookcase in the living room." She picked up a box for herself and I followed her to the living room.

"Book worm," I commented not looking at her.

"Problem?"

I had to chuckle at that and shook my head saying no.

We continued putting the books on the shelf and my cell phone rang letting me know that the pizza was here. I walk to the front and pay the pizza man. I walked into the house and grabbed the six pack of beer and went back to the guest house.

"So Alice told me you are from California, what brought you to Miami?" I asked trying to fill in the silence. I knew the real reason why she moved but I wanted to know what she would come up with.

Bella chewed and took a swig of her beer. She looked nervous for a minute and then looked me with these tense eyes. "Can I trust you?"

Was she seriously going to tell me? "Employer/Employee confidentiality Ms. Swan."

She laughed lightly and then she was serious again. "I was in a relationship for a while and well I found out that this man was not helping people but in fact hurting them, extorting them. Once he realized that I knew about it, I knew that he wasn't going to just let me leave." She exhaled and hesitated to continue. I let her take her time.

"Anyways, I needed to get out of there and well I had to fake my death to be able to get away and Miami is the farthest place that I could think of without leaving the country."

I was floored. "Why would you share such a personal piece of information with me?"

She shifted in her seat and looked at me nervously. "I feel like I can trust you and since you have given me a job and a roof, I don't want there to be any surprises incase this ends badly."

I cleared my throat. So I had her trust the hardest part is over. I got up from my seat and finished my beer I looked around and we had almost everything picked up and put away. "I think we made good progress today. It's getting late and I have to be at my father's office tomorrow early. Make yourself at home and when I get back, I'll take you to the store. I need to get some things also so we can go together." I turned to leave.

"Okay." Was all Bella said as I walked across the pool and into my house. I hopped in the shower and went to sleep. That night I dreamt that I was pointing my gun at someone but their face was too dark to make out.

I'm going through my emails at the office when my phone rings. I looked at the display to see that it was Jasper calling. I bet Alice told him about the shooting range this morning and is calling to find out how it went. "I'm fine." I say into the phone without greeting.

"_That's what you always say. So are you going to show up tonight or not?"_

"I really don't want to. Emmett would understand and besides I have a club that I need to watch over tonight."

"_Edward, don't give me that bullshit. The party is at the club, in the terrace to be exact."_ There were muffled noises and some arguing on the other end of the line. I was about to just hang up when Alice came on the line.

"_Edward! Hello? Are you there? Dammit Jasper I hate this phone! How do you call back on this shit!"_

"I'm here Alice, what?"

"_I think you should bring someone."_

"No."

"_Bella."_

"HELL NO."

"_Shut up, she needs to work anyways so she is going to be at the club regardless. However I think she should officially accompany you to the party so that's why I'm having a dress, some shoes and some jewelry delivered to the house around 3 so make sure that you are there."_

I shut the phone and look at my watch. It was already 1:30 so I decided to just call it quits and go home to relax and decide how the fuck I am going to invite her to this. I don't do dates or formal invitations. Fucking Alice, dammit.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Cullen, these are the items that Ms. Alice had me send over." Said the delivery boy who acted more like a girl. I didn't know who it was. I just took the items from his hands and slammed the door.<p>

What the hell am I getting myself into? I shouldn't have let Alice talk me into this shit.

I knock on the door to the guest house and Bella answered the door with an unsurprised look on her face. Her hair was wet so I guess she just took a shower.

I cleared my throat. "So what are you doing tonight?"

She didn't respond, she just kept looking at me with a weird look in her eyes, like if she was trying to figure me out or something.

Finally, "Edward, you're my boss, and today is Friday. I don't mean to be a smart ass but I think the answer is pretty obvious."

"I know you are going to work Bella, I'm talking about before work?"

She moved away from the door as if inviting me in and closed the door after me.

"I have no friends, no car and I'm trying to keep a low profile. I don't think I'm doing anything tonight before work."

She handed me a beer from the six pace I brought over two days ago. "Well, tonight is Emmett's birthday and we are doing a party for him. Alice sent over some clothes and you would need at the club by 8. You can come and get the clothes whenever you're ready."

She crossed her arms and looked at me with the most unappeased face one could have. "Please tell me why I should with you? I tell you the biggest darkest secret I have and you just walk away? I don't think I want to go with you."

"Bella please, you need to get to work anyways. The party is on the terrace at the club anyways so if you decide that you don't like to hang out with me, your boss, then you can go to the office and click around through Google or whatever."

Bella pursed her lips but didn't say anything.

I walked back to the door and said, "We need to be there by eight. I'll leave the clothes and shoes out by the patio chair. You can come get it whenever you're ready. "

We to the club before eight and made sure that everything was in order. Guests started to trickle in little by little and Emmett still wasn't here. I did see Alice talking to Bella in the corner.

"She's hot, I wonder if she's seeing anyone." Alec stood next to me and started sipping on his drink.

"No, you cannot start seeing her Alec."

"You got dibs on her already Edward?"

My jaw tightened but didn't say anything.

Alec sighed, "You like her don't you?"

"She's my assignment, don't be ridiculous and do not date her. Although I don't think she'll accept anyways." I walked away from Alec and saw Emmett walking through the door already screaming and obviously drunk.

He stumbled over to Bella and Alice and placed his arms over each of their shoulders. "Alice and Bella!" he slurred but Rosalie quickly pulled him off. I could tell that he was looking for me so I just hid through the crowd. I never saw Bella again the rest of the party.

I looked at my watch and realized that Bella was probably working. I decided that I would just leave her alone and let her work I don't think she's too happy with me right now. She didn't say a word the whole ride over to the club. She did look amazing with that black backless dress and the black heels. She had her hair swept to the side and minimal make up.

I sat at the bar and ordered a drink. I'm so confused; she's a nice person and doesn't ask for much. I know it sounds ironic but I feel very protective of her. Although she may not see it, I'm always aware of her. This is going against everything I believe and everything I am. I don't know if I like this.

I asked the bar tender to give me the bottle instead and trudged to my office and locked my door, it was going to be a long night and I needed to think.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7- EPOV

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

I wake up startled, sitting straight up. "Fucking dream." I sighed. I have been having the same dream for the past two months. I'm not sure what it means. I keep my gun pointed at a face that I can't even see. Sure I've always had fucked up dreams, just look at what I do for a living.

I look around the room and noticed that it wasn't mine and where I was sleeping was not a bed. I fell asleep last night on Bella's couch. We were watching a movie and eating pizza and I guess I just passed out.

Besides the dreams, or should I say nightmares, these past two months I have gotten to know Bella. I mean this girl is so selfless that it's just ridiculous. No wonder Aro didn't want to let her go, there was no one else in this world that would be as selfless as her. She told me all these stories of her parents when she was growing up. How her mom got sick and her father just left because he couldn't handle the fact that Bella's mom was dying. Bella skipped her whole first year of college just so that she can take care of her mom. When her mom passed, she decided to go to college and start a new life, she hasn't heard from her father since.

I heard some noise in the kitchen and looked at my watch. It was only seven thirty in the morning, doesn't this girl sleep? I walk over to the kitchen to find her making breakfast.

She looked up and smiled, "Hey, your phone has been ringing off the hook since 6:45, I couldn't sleep anymore and since that phone call is probably important I thought I would make some food for you to eat quickly." She handed me my phone that was on top of the counter in the kitchen. Again, too selfless, why is she worrying whether I eat or not?

I was scrolling through my phone checking who was calling me non-stop. Of course, it was my dad. I saw that I had a text message waiting for me and when I opened it up, it was the all too familiar text message I get when I have an assignment. That perked me up right away, and started eating the eggs and sausage links that Bella had whipped up for me.

"I have a couple of things I need to take care of with my father, I'll be back later and I'll take you to the store since I need to do some shopping too." I said getting up from my chair. It was kind of awkward when it was time to say goodbye. We were comfortable with each other but still.

"That's no problem I'll be making a list and I'll see you later." Bella didn't look my way since she was busy cleaning up the dishes and loading the dishwasher.

I get to the house and quickly take a shower and head out to my father's office.

I get to my father's office and I notice that Mrs. Cope was not there to greet me. Her coffee was still steaming so she must be around somewhere. I head straight to my father's office and sit down in the available chair across from his desk.

"Well it's about fucking time." Carlisle said shuffling through some papers.

"I didn't have my phone with me and I was doing what most people are still doing at that time, sleeping."

He slid a manila folder to me filled with my new assignments information.

"Victor Lawson; 38; heroin dealer." Carlisle started.

"Heroin dealer, have we stooped so low that now we do petty things like a heroin dealer?"

I could tell Carlisle was already having a bad day; he looked at me with eyes that could kill.

"He is cutting the heroin with horse tranquilizer; the street name is Special K. Anyways, when you inject the mixture, after continued use, the layers of skin start to corrode and you will be able to see the raw flesh in your arm or where ever you inject. It's pretty graphic if you ask me."

"Why don't the police get involved?"

"They don't have sufficient evidence to pin that on him. They have only been able to get stories from the junkies that live in the street but none of them are willing to testify."

I shuffle through the rest of the papers, "Where is he now?"

"He's somewhere in the street, he has a couple of deals going on today, but he does live alone and should be home around 3 pm."

"Ok, Perfect." I stood up to leave; I needed to get some things together before this job.

"Edward, I wanted to ask you, how are things with Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Things are going well. Any word yet on Black?"

Carlisle sighed, "No, last we heard, he was in Maine working his way down the coast."

"Should we be worried?" I started to get a little bit edgy at this new information. I didn't want him searching too close.

"Not for right now. But just keep a close eye just in case."

With one swift nod, I left my dad's office.

* * *

><p>I sat in my den with a glass of Jameson. This was my routine after every job. I sit in my den with a glass of Jameson going over every movement and detail of the job and made sure that I didn't miss anything.<p>

Usually I don't mind a good mess whenever I had a job, but today something inside told me to keep it quiet and clean. As soon as I got home from meeting my father I went upstairs to the attic / arms room and I got my silencer for my Italian Beretta. According to the file, this man had an OCD problem which caused him to take a shower every day at exactly 6 pm for 15 minutes which worked out well for me.

I stayed in the neighborhood until it was 5:55pm and I started to make my way into the house. I had a blueprint of the house layout so I knew the easiest way to get in without making noise. The back door was unlocked because he let his little lap dog out to use the bathroom while he showered. Once I was in, I walked through the house very carefully and quietly making sure not to touch anything.

I checked every room to make sure that indeed I was alone. I didn't want to have to take out anyone else. In my job, I have to be invisible and there is no room for error. Finally, I get to the master bedroom and I heard the shower still running. The door was ajar and the steam coming out was enough to cloud the room. I made sure that my gun was loaded and cocked, ready to shoot.

Once I get to the shower, I pull the curtain back and put one on his forehead, that's my signature mark. Smaller bullet means less mess. I guided the body down to the floor of the tub and let the water run over the head. I took the liberty of slicing through his carotid artery to ensure that the body is fully drained. I left the water running over his head and turned to pick up the shell casing and made my way out of the house.

I decided to pull out Aro's file to see if I can add any more information or at least just try to put something together to just get the OK from the agency to get rid of this bastard. I should be somewhat grateful that because of him I have to watch and protect Bella and Bella is an amazing person. But a girl like that shouldn't have to go through things like this.

I poured myself another glass of Jameson and pulled out Bella's file and just stared at the Polaroid that was taken of her when she first started working at Starbucks. I still remember the look that she gave me when I gave her my business card. I had to chuckle at the memory, "Stripper."

I looked at my watch and noticed that it was ten minutes until eight. I told Bella that we would go to the store. I decided to sober up a little bit and go take a quick shower.

I dressed comfortable in some shorts and a tank top because I was just going to the store anyways. I remembered that I left the files open on my desk and walked over to the den to go put them away before going over to Bella's.

I should make her drive to the store.

As soon as I walk in, I see Bella reading one of the files that was on my desk. Fuck, this is not how I wanted her to find out. I decided to make my presence known by clearing my throat since she was clearly enthralled into what she was reading. I saw that her eyes were glistening. As soon as I cleared my throat, she jumped and dropped the file on to the desk.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing Bella?"

"What the fuck is this Edward?" Bella's face was white as if she had seen a ghost. I felt a lump in the back of my throat seeing her like this but I ignored it. She was looking through my stuff, a big NO NO for Edward Cullen.

I decide to answer her question and ran my hand through my hair. "Its work Bella, you shouldn't be looking at that."

"How do you know about Aro?"

I didn't say anything. I'm not sure how to explain that to her.

"He hired you didn't he? He hired you to give me a job because my boss was going to want sexual favors in order to be promoted; he knew that I was going to be homeless in a matter of weeks so he hired you to give me a place to stay. He hired you to do all of this to gain my trust and then kill me right? I knew it was too good to be true. I should have put two and two together."

She just kept ranting and was giving me a headache. I decided to walk over to her and just explain things to her but she grabbed the letter opener that was on top of my desk and pointed it at me. "Don't you dare move! I am going to get the little shit I have and I am going to leave and you will never see me again and you will not tell Aro that you saw me." She was crying now.

This is bullshit. "Bella stop being ridiculous, I am not going to kill you. So put down the fucking letter opener." I snapped.

She still didn't budge. Fine then I was going to show her how ridiculous she looks right now.

I took out the small revolver that I had hidden in a small vase near the door and Bella gasped.

"I have guns hidden all over this house Bella. If that were the case, I would have killed you a long time ago. So put down the fucking letter opener and let me explain." I said calmly.

She finally put the letter opener down and so I decided to put the gun back in the vase and walk over to her. She was shaking so badly and all I wanted to do was just hold her. I fought the urge to do so.

Instead I just turned to look at her and sighed. "I'm a hit man Bella. I know about Aro because I am trying to get a hit placed on him. The agency found out that Aro hired Jacob Black to track you down and get rid of you. Once the agency found out about that, they hired me to protect you and watch over you. You know all about Aro's operations and you are a valuable asset."

She didn't say anything but the silent tears kept rolling down her eyes. I wiped her eyes and she shuddered when I touched her. I decided to just keep my hands to myself.

After a few minutes of silence, she finally spoke. "So this whole time you put up with me just so that you can get to Aro?"

"At first, yes. I've never been through this before. I took assignments to kill people that have done wrong. I'll be honest at first I only took the job because it would get me close to Aro. I wanted to call the whole thing off the moment I met you and you accused me of offering you a stripping position at my club. But the more I got to know you as a person over the last two months, the more I liked you and the more sincere I became."

Bella scoffed as soon as I finished my sentence.

"I can't believe that I trusted you to the point that I told you about Aro and here you knew the whole time! And to think that I was telling myself that I felt something for you when it's clear that you do not feel the same way. I actually thought that you cared."

This caught me off guard so I grabbed Bella's face and forced her to look at me.

"Okay, I am totally out of my element here Bella. You have been living here for 2 months already. Do you honestly think that I would offer any one my guest house that is used for GUESTS?"

"Edward, I took my chances and ignored the voices in my head screaming at me not to tell you about myself. But I told you anyways, I was honest from the start. I thought this was different but now I'm aware that it's just all the same."

She removed my hands from her face and was turning to walk away. I grabbed her arm to stop her. "You can't leave Bella. It's not safe for you. I can't have you running around the city or the state or whatever. Aro has people looking for you all over the country!"

"I'm not leaving anywhere outside the city Edward. I just need a friend right now and that friend is not you." I let go of her arm and she left the room.

I don't know what I felt when I saw her leave. It didn't hurt but it made me feel bad, really bad.

I poured myself another glassful of Jameson and went to my room. I'm not sure how much time had passed when I heard a car drive off the side the house. I jumped and looked out the window and saw Alice's car driving out. At least she's with Alice and not in the street by herself.

I don't remember what happened next, since everything went black.

I was lying in bed face down, just waking up. I could tell it was already morning because of the all the sunlight in the room. As I was about to get up, I heard some footsteps coming up the stairs. Quickly and quietly got I grabbed my Glock from my nightstand and stood alongside the door. The footsteps stopped climbing the stairs and were making their way towards the door.

I saw the door handle turning and I cocked my gun. I pulled the door in one quick motion and pointed the gun at the person at the other side of the door.

"Put it down." Jasper smirked.

I let out a gustful of air and lowered my gun.

"Sorry bro, I been having the same bad dream for the past two months. I'm getting paranoid I know." I walked back over and put the glock back on my nightstand.

Jasper stayed where he was, by the door. "What's going on with you Edward?"

I sat down at the foot of the bed and shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know Jasper, and nothing is going right."

"Bella went off on Alice last night because Alice didn't tell her about your "other" job."

That got me angry; I looked at Jasper with a serious face. "It's not Alice's place to tell her that."

Jasper nodded in agreement, and then scrunched up his nose. "Dude, you stink. Did you drink yourself to sleep last night?" He looked passed me to the empty bottle of Jameson on my nightstand. "Never mind don't even answer that."

I ran my hands through my hair, "Yesterday I had a hit, some heroin dealer. I got home and had my glass of Jameson like I always do. So I pulled out Bella's and Aro's file and was trying to come up with ways to take him down."

Jasper motioned for me to continue, so I did.

"Anyways, I checked the time and realized that I had told Bella we would go to the store to get some food together and went to take a shower. I guess Bella came looking for me and she walked into the den and saw the files. When I came back from my shower to put everything away, I saw her in the den."

"Figures." Jasper shook his head slowly.

"So then she thought I was going to kill her, and she threatened me with a letter opener. But I told her the truth." I said.

"You told her you couldn't stand her, Edward."

"At the beginning, you know that! Remember about the stripping?"

"Yes I remember," Jasper came and sat next to me on the bed. "How do you feel about her?"

Oh God, here we go. What is with everyone trying to get me to talk about my feelings like if I was a teenager? "Feel? I don't feel anything. I have my rules Jasper, rules that I go by. I don't love or feel. The only love I have is for my family."

"Rules that you used to go by Edward." He sounded frustrated "You gave her a job, which you don't do to just everyone and you gave her a place to stay on your own property! Two rules that would have remained unbroken if it were anyone else. You would've had her stay and Alec's and you would care if they dated or not."

I scoffed, "Jasper my father put this on to me. I only accepted because this was related to Aro and knowing the type of person that Bella is, she shouldn't have to go through that."

"I'm calling bullshit right there Edward. You are 28 years old, you can say no." Jasper calmed down a bit before continuing, "Look you want to ignore what you are feeling, fine. It will come back to you. She likes you Ed. If she didn't, she wouldn't have spent the night in MY BED with MY WIFE on our DATE NIGHT crying. I got stuck on the couch because you don't know how to deal with things that don't need to be killed."

"I'm not lying to myself, Jazz. I just don't feel that way." I looked straight ahead towards the turned off TV.

I could tell he was fed up with my bullshit. Jasper got up and walked towards the door. He turned around and said, "Whatever you say Edward. If you don't get your act together, that girl is going to leave and someone will find her and kill her."

I tried picturing that in my head. But I couldn't, it was just going to make me mad. Jasper continued," By the way, you are having lunch today with Alice to go over the security changes being done this week." With that Jasper left the room.

Some guy last weekend was trying to get into the payroll room. According to Luis the head bouncer, he caught the guy trying to get into the payroll room, supposedly he was looking for the bathroom but the payroll room needs a key card and the man had a keycard. Luis escorted him to the bathroom and swiped his key card from the guys pocket since he really was intoxicated. I am not sure if this has to do with Bella, but Bella was up there that night, so I cannot take any risks.

I checked the clock and it was about 11 in the morning. I decided to just put everything aside and go take a shower and head over to the club.

* * *

><p>Once I got the club and walked in, everything was frenzy. There was dust everywhere, people drilling holes and wires were all over the floor. I didn't want to deal with all of that right now so I made my way upstairs to the conference room where Alice was already seated with some take out from the Chinese restaurant down the street.<p>

"What's the damage?" I asked Alice as I sat down.

"Oh you know she's depressed. I think she loves you Edward." Alice stated without looking up from her papers.

"Not about Bella, Alice. I mean what's going on here?" My patience was running thin already.

Alice's face got serious, "Oh, of course. I've deactivated everyone's key card. We had to manually unlock the doors for today to have the workers in and out making the changes. They are installing a key pad system that will generate a new code every month and send it your email and Bella's as well. Payroll will have an automatic lock placed that will lock the door after 5pm. You three will be the only ones allowed up there on your own. Everyone else will need to be escorted by you, Bella, or Lauren."

"What about the nightly guestlist? I don't want anyone going up there when she's alone."

Alice smirked at my comment but didn't say anything else. "We are trying to get the electronic system implemented by this weekend but it may not be ready until next weeks since the software is coming from overseas. So for right now the bouncers can use the suction tunnel."

"Call the security company, and tell them that I need that new system done by next Friday. I don't want anyone going up the office that doesn't need to be there." I said as I was signing off on the order.

I could feel Alice's eyes on me and I was going through the last of the paperwork.

"So, speaking of Bella," Alice started.

"Yes, speaking of Bella, I need her to stay with you until Friday." I said.

"Why? You don't have another job this week." Alice was looking through her planner.

"I just need to some time to think Alice. I know that she'll be safe with you and Jasper."

Alice was about to object but I didn't let her even start.

"Just make sure that you bring her to work on Friday. I'll take care of the rest."

"Fine." Alice replied. "But may I ask where you are going to be? Just in case, you know."

"I'm going to be at the castle." Alice gasped. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. Just please keep your mouth shut. I want to be alone for the next day and a half."

The castle is a two story penthouse that I own at the farthest eastern point of Key Biscayne. It was so out east that the cell phone reception was shitty as hell for a place so expensive. I'll admit it was nowhere near a castle but my mom stated that it looked like a small castle when I first bought it.

Alice realized that her mouth was still open and she closed it. "The castle, really? You haven't been there since the last time you needed to be alone and that was over five years ago. Wow this must be serious then. "

"I know Alice, and if Jasper or Emmett or even my father were to find out that I was there, they would go running over there and I don't need to be bombarded by people I just want to be alone."

Alice's eyes were soft and understanding but she had that knowing smile on her face. "Ok Edward. Just go and think. If you need anything then I'll call you. I'll just tell Jasper that Bella doesn't want to go to the house yet. I'll handle everything for the club until Friday." She got up from the table walked over and gave me a peck on the cheek and a quick hug before practically skipping out of the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: SO WHAT DO WE THINK? EDWARD IS IN DENIAL RIGHT NOW. BUT THAT WILL SOON CHANGE. AS FOR BELLA WELL WE'LL HEAR FROM HER SOON. THIS STORY IS MORE ABOUT EDWARD. BUT I DONT WANT TO LEAVE BELLA COMPLETELY OUT OF IT EITHER. SORRY FOR THE LONG CHAPTER BUT WANTED TO GET EVERYTHING OUT. WE'LL HEAR FROM EDWARD IN THE CASTLE NEXT. UNTIL THEN LEAVE ME A REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINKS OR WHAT ELSE YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN THIS STORY. :) **


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8- EPOV

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

I head down the stairs after taking a long shower that I desperately needed to relax and think. I needed to think because being around Bella makes me second-guess myself. At this point, I just keep repeating the same things over to myself time and time again thinking that it is going to answer my questions, but they don't.

I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and started thinking about Esme and Carlisle. The last time I was here was because of my mom. I didn't want to think about that night, but my mind brought it on regardless.

Carlisle was careless one night after a hit. He thought the target was dead considering the fact that he was shot in the heart. We always double check, but that night he was so sure of himself that he just left and didn't think twice about it. Two days later, Carlisle had stepped out to the store, Esme offered to go along but Carlisle didn't need her to come along. He took longer than expected but when he got back, he found Esme on the floor with a bullet in her head. I tried to imagine her on the floor but I just couldn't.

Carlisle did find the person and tortured him, cut off all his fingers and his toes and then eventually sliced his neck. But none of that would ever bring Esme back. Carlisle and I would work together of occasion but when Esme died, he decided that he wasn't cut out for that type of lifestyle anymore and handed it over to me, but decided to just hand over the assignments. My mind drifted from my mom on the floor, to Bella on the floor. I imagined her on the floor with a bullet in her head somewhere and I shuddered.

I know I feel something for Bella like Jasper said, but was it love? I have never loved anyone other than my family. I know that I do care for her and want to protect her to a certain extent and not because of the assignment, at least not anymore.

I sat down on the love seat and start flipping through a magazine I had on my coffee table.

Bella was easy to like by everyone. Alice and her walk around like if they have known each other their whole lives. I even remember Alice telling me a comment that Rosalie had made about Bella being the most decent person that he has seen me with.

I was still flipping through the magazine not paying attention to anything on the pages when I came across an ad with the word FATE in big bold letter. Although the ad was for Trojan condoms, I didn't focus on that, instead I focused on the word. Fate. Could it be fate? I've been tagging along on my fathers' hits since I was 10, and didn't get my first target until I was 13. People are being protected all the time. But why me? Why now, when I'm 28 years old.

Just like Jasper said, if it were any other woman, I would have made her stay with Alec and I wouldn't have cared whether or not they hooked up. All my life I've been used to women throwing themselves at me. Who showed the most cleavage or the most ass, the women knew they looked good and I knew I looked good.

When I met Bella, she was the complete opposite to what I was used to. She's shy but ballsy at the same time, self-conscious but confident altogether. Totally out of my comfort zone and I never really understood it.

I closed the magazine and stepped out to the balcony. I leaned over and watched the people walking along the sand, there was a woman jogging along with her dog and then there was a couple that were hugging and giving each other pecks and playing around in the sand. I thought about Bella and me walking along, holding hands. I like her, for now. I know I don't love her yet, but I definitely like her, A LOT.

I needed to tell her before she did something stupid putting her own life in danger. I was going to run out the door but I stopped myself. I couldn't just run up to her and tell her that I liked her. This wasn't the third grade. This is why I don't date. To constantly wonder if the other person feels the same way, to be careful how you word things because you don't want her to get the wrong idea. God, I feel so fucking vulnerable it's awkward.

I decided that I was going to need some help. I decided to type a text message with just one word- "castle" and hit send. I never got response but I knew the message was received. Ten minutes later there is a persistent knocking on the door and eventually turned into a fist banging against the door. When I open the door, Emmett is gasping for air in his bathing suit all red from the sun. I didn't say anything as I moved away from the door letting him in. He threw himself on the couch and slowed down his breathing.

"Did you tell anyone that you were coming here?" I asked. I knew it was a stupid question but Emmett never ceases to surprise you.

"I've been out fishing since 5am. I was on my way in when I got your message and I sped over here. Thank God for that marina downstairs." Emmett was still out of breath.

I came back from the kitchen with two beers and sat down on the couch and handed one to Emmett and took a sip of my own.

"Thanks." Emmett took a sip of his beer. "Now do you want to tell me why you're here? Did someone die? Should I be worried?"

I rolled my eyes, already running out of patience. "No Emmett, no one died."

"But last time you were here was because-"

"I know why I was here last time Emmett. I don't need a reminder." I cut him off.

"So what's going on? This must be important."

I ran my hand through my hair. I wasn't sure how I was going to say this without looking like a total pussy.

"How did you know when you loved Rosalie?" I decided to start off with a simple question.

Emmett was mid-sip of his beer and spit it all over the floor and coffee table and started coughing furiously.

"Dammit Emmett! Quit being so damn dramatic will you."

Emmett wiped his face and looked back over to me.

"Oh I'm sorry; I forgot that we talk about this all the time!" Emmett said sarcastically.

"Just forget it." I got up and went to grab some Windex and some paper towels.

Emmett did not move from his spot in the couch and just yelled. "No, no! You called me instead of Jasper so I am going to help you out!"

I knew he was smirking and I couldn't help but crack a smile at his stupidity.

"I've been around the block a few times Edward. I was kind of like you. I never thought that love would find its way to me."

I scoffed. "That's not why I don't fall in love."

Emmett sighed and looked at me. "I know. But we never fell in love. Forget the reasons why, let's just focus on the fact that we never did."

I didn't say anything, I let him continue.

"Anyways, when I met Rose she still wanted you. And even though I knew that fact really well, there was still something pulling me towards her. At first I thought that it was my need to try and sleep with her because of all the times that she shot me down. When she finally said yes, that was the best feeling in the whole world. I honestly thought this feeling was going to die down the moment that we had sex but when we did have the sex, not only was it mind blowing but I didn't want to have just sex with her anymore. I just wanted to be around her. She was the only one that has been able to call me on my bullshit from the start."

I cleared my throat unsure how to respond to that.

Finally I asked, "But how did you KNOW?"

Emmett scoffed. "Know? I didn't know. Alice had to tell me."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, Jasper and she had just started dating at that time and Rose was already like super-duper best friends with her or whatever. I was kind of scary." Emmett said matter of factly.

I couldn't believe this and now that I am thinking about it Bella and Alice have been really close.

"Ridiculous." I mumbled. I look over at Emmett and he has this look on his face asking what the whole point of this conversation is for. I sighed and just decided to tell her.

"I suppose you want to know why we are having this conversation."

"I suppose you're right." Emmett said knowingly.

"As you might have already heard, Bella found out about my part-time job."

Emmett snorted but didn't say anything else.

"Not my finest hour, I know. Anyways, Bella has been staying with Alice, but the night that she found out, she left. Even though she left with Alice, she still left. When I saw her leaving something inside of me just snapped and I wanted to run after her. I felt like it was something I needed to do." I ran my hand through my hair I didn't think that I was explaining myself correctly since Emmett was looking at me a little bit weird.

"I've felt alone since she left, Emmett. That's mainly why I came out here. I figured it would have taken Bella a couple of days for her to want to come back anyways, so I asked Alice to watcher her for the next couple of days and to make sure that she comes to work on Friday."

Emmett was scrolling through his phone and then looked up at me with cautious eyes. "Tomorrow is Friday, brother."

I sighed "I know."

"Do you have a plan?" Emmett asked sitting up straight and all excited.

"No! I don't even know what the hell is going on with me! I don't even know what I am going to tell her tomorrow Emmett. I know I never say this but- I'm scared."

Emmett was nodding his head slowly while typing something in his phone.

This was already pissing me off. "If you are going to continue eating shit on your phone then get the hell out of here!"

Emmett had a serious look on his face and then it changed to a soft smile. "It's simple really. You love her." He stated matter of factly.

"I know I feel something for her but I know it's not love. Not yet at least."

Emmett had a pensive look on his face and then his eyes widened up.

"You are in-like with her. Yup that's what it is."

"I told you Emmett it's too soon for – in like? Is that even a real term?" I asked.

Emmett fixed his position on the couch and nodded his head so fast I thought I was going to fall off. "Oh yeah, totally real. That's how it started with Rosie too. Alice made up the term or something to better pin point the feeling. But you are in-like with her and that's a fact homeboy."

I was trying to figure out how I am going to tell her about this. She must still be upset and I don't blame her. Emmett must have noticed that I hadn't said anything for a while and must have realized that I was trying to figure out when to tell her.

"Tell her at work tomorrow. Wait for the guest list to go up and go talk to her then. Rosalie was over at Alice's yesterday and from what Rosie says, I think she's in-like with you too." Emmett said using air quotes and everything.

No. I am not going to tell her at work. If I am going to tell a woman how I feel about her, something that I have never done before, I need to do it with her undivided attention. The idea that she could possible feel the same way for me was making my heart beat faster than it was beating the first time I was assigned a solo hit.

I thanked Emmett for his help and kicked him out. I ordered some Chinese food delivery and sat down with a 6-pack and dug in. I was trying to think of ways that I could tell her but I kept coming up blank. By the time I finished the beer it was close to 2 am. I decided to shower and just go to sleep. That night I had a fuzzy dream about Bella.

By the time I woke up it was almost 1pm. Normally I wouldn't be able to sleep this long but I actually slept great, I couldn't remember waking up at all last night. I figured I would kill sometime and go downstairs to the shops and look around.

I passed by a jewelry store and saw these dog tags that Emmett would really like so I decided to get his name engraved on them and on the back I had them engrave "Through thick and through thin, Edward".

I would never get anyone a gift just because. I would normally only give gifts on birthdays or holiday's and only to the family or Alec. But I felt like I needed to give him something in order to show my appreciation for the help.

I picked up a couple of other things and by the time I looked at my watch again it was already 7. Luckily the club wasn't far it's just that it takes almost 20 minutes alone just to get out of the damn island.

By the time I arrived to the club the promoters were starting to arrive. I'm never usually here this early so all the promoters were looking at me like if they didn't know me. Once Luis greeted me they all started greeting me as well. I just ignored them and went inside, I was not up for this. I did notice however that Alice's car was not there. I decided to just go upstairs and keep myself buys with something. Once I got upstairs everything was quiet, and all of the doors along the hallway were closed. My office was in the in between the other rooms and Bella's office was all the way at the end of the hallway across from the conference room which I noticed the door was open and there was light spilling out on the carpet.

I was walking over to her office and I heard Rosalie's voice. Why was Rose here?

"You need to tell him." Sounded like Rosalie.

"No. I'm not talking to him. I'll just change my number. There is no point in making Edward worry." Bella said and I heard her slam something against the wall.

"So much for these Tracfones, my name is nowhere on the account or anything. How is it possible?" Bella sounded exasperated.

"Edward can get you an untraceable phone, but you need to tell him what's going so that he can help you." Rosalie said softly but there was no answer from Bella so Rosalie continued. "If Black finds out where you are, things could end badly."

I decided that I had enough of the eavesdropping and walked into the room. I looked at Bella and she had a frightened look on her face like if she just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar before dinner. I maintained a smooth expression, I pretended like I didn't hear what was going on.

"What's going on?" Bella didn't answer and neither did Rosalie. I decided to ask her about the phone. I pointed over to the wall, "Bella, your phone?" The dry wall was cracked and the phone was on the floor shattered to a million pieces.

Bella looked at me, "Oh- um- nothing" and then quickly looked away.

Rosalie had her arms crossed and scoffed while shaking her head. "Its bullshit Edward, Black called her phone. I told her not to answer the blocked call but she did it anyways. When she answered the phone, she recognized his voice and quickly hung up."

I ran my hand through my hair and pulled out my phone and called Carlisle.

"_Edward.__"_ Carlisle answered on the 3 ring.

"I need three things from you."

"I'm listening."

"I need a clone, a passport and location on Jacob Black."

"What's going on?" Carlisle's voice seemed a little stressed.

I sighed, "Black called Bella's phone with a blocked number. Bella answered and recognized Black's voice and quickly hung up."

There was silence on the line for a few moments, "Where is the phone now?"

"Smashed to pieces on the floor." I said to Carlisle while Rosalie took a bow while pointing to the wall. I rolled my eyes and looked at Bella. She was sitting in her chair with her eyes closed.

"Ok good, I'll have the clone and the passport ready by tomorrow. I'll call the agency now and check on Black."

"Let me know if there are any complications." I ended the call and looked again at Bella. She did look freaked out but was trying to play it off. I turned to Rose and said, "Hey Emmett was downstairs when I got here. He was at the bar with a drink but I think he's waiting on you."

Rosalie looked at her watch, "Crap I gotta go to work. Alice is supposed to handle some things with Jasper at the club but she might come by later." She said to Bella.

"Call me in case of anything." This time she said to me and ran out.

I went over and closed the door after Rosalie left and leaned against it. Bella was still sitting in her chair without moving. She was trying hard not to cry but tears started to roll down her cheeks. I walked over to her, picked her up and sat her on top of me in the chair. I just wanted to hold her, so I did.

"I don't know what to going to happen now." She was sniffling.

"Nothing is going to happen to you, I promise. Carlisle is going to bring you a cloned cell phone so no can trace it and a passport as well in case things get serious but don't worry, that won't happen. I'm here for this same reason." I said as I was trying to soothe her.

"Can you stay until I get the list taken care of? It's so quiet and eerie up here sometimes." Bella's head was still resting on my shoulder.

"That's fine, I wasn't planning on going anywhere anyways."

A couple of hours later, Bella was ready to send the list over to payroll. I decided to take this moment to apologize.

"Bella, I know that you must still be bothered by all of this. I just want you to know that I'm sorry for not telling you the whole truth about me. You do understand why I had to do it right?"

Bella hit the send button and then turned to look at me.

"I know that you are trying to protect me and I am sorry that I didn't react better. All I was able to think about was the fact that you had a file on and on Aro and I sat there and told you all about my hardships in life and then it turns out that you knew already!" Bella chuckled humorlessly at that last part.

"Bella, yes I knew about you faking your death to get away but I didn't know how strong, loyal and selfless of a person you were. I got to know that from knowing you, and not your file. And as for Aro, I've been after him for years. Unfortunately I don't need a file to know that the man is no good."

I got up and decided that it was time to go home. I helped Bella gather her things and we went out through the back exit where Oscar was already waiting with the car.

"Edward, I'm still a little bit shook up and I'm afraid to go to the house." Bella said.

A slight smile came across my face, "I figured as much, that's why we are not going home." Bella didn't say anything as I drove off. Once we got to the toll plaza to get into Key Biscayne, I looked at Bella and she had a look on her face like if she wanted to ask but was afraid to.

"You can ask you know." I said trying to make her more comfortable around me. "All of our secrets have been put out there between us, you don't ever have to worry about asking me anything." I assured her.

Bella smiled and finally spoke, "Where are we going? Do you have a house boat or something?"

Her odd assumptions made me laugh, that was one thing that I really liked about her. "No, I don't have a house boat Bella. If I did, it would be on the west coast, less chance of a hurricane to destroy it."

"I was actually kidding but okay. Where are we going?" Bella was giggling.

I paid the toll and made my way rather quickly to Biscayne city. I pulled into the Wal-Mart and turned off the car.

"We are going to go where I have been for the past two days."

She looked at me clueless and then asked, "Alice told me that you had gone out of town."

"Well I'll let you be the judge on that, but I went away to think about some things." I got out of the car and walked around to open the door and let her out. "But first, we have to get some things to eat because I have been living off of Chinese food for the past two days."

Before walking in, Bella grabbed a shopping cart and we proceeded to get things like wine and different kinds of meats and other essentials. I hadn't been there in 5 years, plus I wanted to make sure that Bella had everything that she needed to feel comfortable. I even got her some clothes so that she had something to sleep in and something to wear tomorrow.

Once I paid for everything, we loaded it all into the trunk of the S550. Bella didn't comment or say anything once I pulled up to the building and parked the car. I had Cesar the "bellhop" take the groceries up stairs. Bell still didn't say anything when we reached my floor.

"Well, here we are. This is the Castle." I opened the doors and made my way inside holding the door open for Bella to come in as well. I heard her gasp quietly; I guess she was taking everything in around her. The place was very antique with a medieval but modern twist to it. Now that I think about it and take in my surroundings, I guess this is why Esme called it the Castle.

I guided Bella over to the kitchen so that I can put away the groceries.

"I could see why you would call it the castle." Bella said as she sat down on the counter while I grabbed a frozen pizza and put it in the oven. Bella is a great cook but it was almost 4am and I didn't think that it would be fair to have her cook after everything.

I showed Bella around the rest of the penthouse and then showed her where she would be sleeping. Twenty minutes later the over rang signaling that the pizza was ready. I gave Bella the plates and the cups so that we could eat in the balcony. I brought the pizza and the wine out and served us each a slice.

"It's so high up here, you can see everything." Bella seemed breath taken. Even though it was dark outside you can still see the ocean.

"I love it out here but I don't come out too often."

"May I ask why?" She asked shyly, taking a bit of pizza in the process.

"When I first bought the place about 6 years ago, I bought it just like this fully furnished and everything. I didn't really like the style but my mother, Esme was in love with it and begged me not to change it. She said it reminded her of a small castle. So I decided that I would keep it like that for a little while and then change it."

Bella smirked, "Typical boy."

I smiled back at her comment but continued my story. "See, I used to be a person that never cared about anyone or anything. I was always under the influence of either drugs or alcohol especially after a hit. After every hit, I ended up here, passed out or strung out or whatever. This was all before I opened the clubs and I always had at least 3 hits a week. At that time I was still living at home, I never felt prepared enough to leave home. But when Esme saw that I never made it home she would come over here to the Castle and just take care of me. Carlisle got upset after that first year of me owning the Castle but Esme didn't care. "

I took a long swig of my wine. I would need it to get through the next part of the story. "Up until about 5 years ago, my dad and I worked together on hits occasionally. Anyways, one day that Carlisle and I were supposed to do a hit together he went alone and took care of it himself. I always liked the days that we worked together, I considered it bonding time. A couple of days after the hit, Carlisle stepped out to get a couple of things at the store, Esme wanted to go along but Carlisle didn't need her to go along it was just for a couple of things. When my dad came home 45 minutes later, he found Esme on the floor in the kitchen with a bullet in her head."

Bella's eyes opened wide, "Payback." Was all she said.

"Yeah, well turns out that Carlisle was sloppy that day and didn't double check like he was supposed to do. I don't know how the target found out it was him or much less where he lived, but they went to the house with the intentions to just kill Carlisle, but since he wasn't there, they took it out on my mother instead."

Bella scooted her chair closer to me and turned to look at me. "Oh Edward, that must have been such a horrible experience. Were they ever able to catch the guy again?"

"Carlisle couldn't take the guilt that he felt and decided to get out of the business except just to give me the assignments since he had the connection at the agency. I was able to locate the bastard and I wanted to take him out but Carlisle had other plans for him."

I looked over at Bella and I noticed that her arms were covered in goose bumps. I figured I would skip over the part about the torture.

"None of us got over it easily. Emmett stopped talking to me and Carlisle for almost a year. He said that he couldn't stand to be related to people like us. Things did get better after I brought Rosalie around, and we started talking again. But when Esme was killed, I stayed here for about a week and no one was allowed up here. She was the last person to come up here besides me before she died and I didn't want anyone taking that away from her. Even to this day, whenever I'm here, no one will come over unless I asked."

Bella looked away from me and out to the rising sun along the horizon. Were both comfortable in the silence. It was better not to talk. After several minutes I decided that it was time to clean up and get some sleep. I showed Bella her room again and when I was going to walk away she grabbed my arm, turned me around and hugged me.

"I want to thank you for everything that you've done for me. I also wanted to thank you for trusting me enough to tell me about such a delicate time in your life."

Instinctively I hugged her back, "Your welcome, and thank you for listening."

"I would love to hear more about Esme, you know whenever you feel up for it."

I looked down at her and saw the sincerity in her eyes. "That would be nice," I said. "Goodnight Bella." I turned and walked over to my room and shut the door.

I undressed down to my boxers and laid back in my bed and closed my eyes. I was thinking about Bella, nothing in particular; just her eyes, her lips and the hug that we just shared about 20 minutes ago. I decided to get up and go shower so that I can fall asleep easier. I heard some footsteps and a door closing so I figured it was probably Bella. When I am walking over to the bathroom I hear a knock on the door.

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><p><strong>AN: HEY GUYS SORRY TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE BUT THINGS HAVE BEEN CRAZY WITH LIFE AND WORK HAS BEEN KICKING MY ASS. I HOPE TO GET BACK ON TRACK SOON BUT THIS CHAPTER WAS ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT AND I'M STILL NOT TO CRAZY ABOUT IT. PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! :) LOVE U GUYS.**


	10. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT!**

The Professional  
>Chapter 9<p>

what did she want? I looked down at myself and saw that I was wearing no shirt, my pants button was undone and a towel hung over my shoulder.  
>I heard her sigh through the door and I think she was about to walk away, so I walked over and opened the door slowly. Bella's back was to me but she was frozen in place.<br>"Hey." I said, I didn't really know what she wanted.

Bella slowly turned around she had her eyes to the ground as she turned around and then her eyes slowly found their way up my body hesitating at my chest and then finally making their way to my eyes.  
>I smile and tried not to chuckle. She was speechless, and I don't know how I felt about that. I felt flattered of course what woman didn't find me attractive but the flattery made me- giddy as well. I never really cared how a woman has affected me. Really I never paid that much attention to them but now I felt happy that I was able to feel this way.<p>

Finally gaining her senses she replies, "Um- there weren't any towels in the bathroom. I kind of wanted to shower, but I can wait. It's not a problem." she was nervous and I loved every minute of it.

"Definitely, not. Go ahead and shower first." I walked over to the linen closet and grabbed a towel and handed it to her. She had a faint blush on her cheeks, "thank you" she said.

"You're welcome. Listen I wanted to thank you for letting talk about my mother. I haven't really talked about in a long time. Jasper tries to bring the topic up every once in a while but I normally just change the topic, so - thank you."

She blushed deep red. I just had to smile. "It's no problem really Edward. I like hearing about your mom and your family. I never had that kind of unity with my family."

I turned to walk out of the bathroom and back to my room. I heard her following behind me and then suddenly ask, "Actually you can go shower first I was wondering if I could borrow your computer." I turned around and she was standing in front of the door way to the study.

When I didn't immediately respond she added, "I wanted to look up a recipe that I wanted to do for breakfast tomorrow." she was starting to blush.

"Oh that's fine, no problem. It is password protected though." I motioned for her to enter the study and I followed behind. "Go ahead and sit down in the chair ill just type it in for you."

"You think I am going to come back and make copies of all the embarrassing pictures you may have stored on their Cullen?" Bella cracked as she sat down.

"Firstly Miss Swan, I do not have any embarrassing pictures in there. Secondly, the password is what's embarrassing." I admitted as the computer started booting up.

"Now you have to tell me." Bella said smiling.

"Nope. Not even my family knows the password and Emmett has been trying to figure it out for years."

The password screen finally pops up I stand behind the chair where Bella is sitting and I lower my head down closely to hers side by side as I typed in the password. I heard her breath hitch and stopped.

After typing the password my I turn my head and our faces are very close together I could smell the wine in her breath and she finally took a breath. My eyes looked down to her lips as she wet them with her tongue and I looked back up to her eyes. I closed the distance between us which wasn't very much and I softly kissed her lips.

She immediately responded and kissed me back and started turning the chair to be more comfortable. I grabbed the sides of her face and started to kiss her more intensely.

Our tongues met halfway and fought over control and Bella pulled me closer, but I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

I slowly made my way over to my room and into the bathroom and I sat her on the toilette breaking our kiss to turn on the shower.

As I let the steam of the hot water fill the room, I turn back to Bella and had her get up. I kissed her again as I ran my fingers across the side of her hips and grabbed her waist. I stuck my thumbs under her shirt and pressed them against her skin.

I felt her lift her arms allowing me to take her shirt off. She was wearing a plain little white bra looking amazing. Her breasts her round and swollen looking extra plump in that bra.

Bella was pulling on my shirt motioning me to take it off, which I did. Bella ran her hands against my chest and smiled, "This is way better than what I have been picturing." Bella said breathlessly.

"You are amazing." I said against her skin as I kissed her neck. I kept nicking the skin with my teeth and she  
>would suck in some air and hold her breath.<p>

I kissed her once more as I untied her bra and undid her pants. I untied mine and she finished getting undressed. Before we knew it, we were both in front of each other absolutely naked and I didn't feel uncomfortable and neither did Bella I stepped into the shower and puller her in with me the hot water coming out of the shower head immediately soaking us.

I held Bella close to me as the water washed over us. The shower was so big that it had multiple spickets pointing in all directions spraying water and it also had a small built-in bench which I sat down in and positioned Bella straddling me on my lap.

She started to kiss me and closed the distance between us making her chest brush up against my chest. My hands her resting on her thighs and moved up to grab her hips and start grinding her on top of me.

She willingly obliged and started moving her hips around grinding on me. I pulled on her hair a little bit breaking our kiss but making her head go back just enough to give me access to that neck that I just want to bite and suck and just mark her.

After a few more minutes of grinding Bella sees how ready I am for her. I grab my dick and guide it to Bella's entrance where she slides down on it making me fell all of her on my dick.

It's so tight and slick that I grabbed her hips and moved her around on me. She didn't have to put any effort. I just guided her around in a circular motion memorizing every grunt and moan and face that she made as I continued her push into her.

I grabbed her ass cheeks and spread them part as I gripped on her. She out a loud grunt that was more like a moan and I felt her walls start to tighten on me and she grabbed on the hair of the back of my head and start to miss my neck.

I pulled her hair making her head go back again and I nipped at her neck where she all of a sudden unraveled on me.

She started pulsating really hard on my dick and let out this long elongated moan where she shivered and trembled against my body.

I couldn't hold myself anymore and left myself spill inside her like a volcano that was just waiting to erupt. I tried to hold myself from moaning and let out a rough grunt.

Bella just sat in same straddle position for several minutes letting her self come down from her high and I didn't mind in the least.

After a few more minutes he water started to run cold and Bella started to move. I stood up her still holding her with her legs around my waist. I grabbed two towels and through them on the bed and laid Bella on it. I dried her quickly and placed her under the covers. I dried myself and joined her moments later hugging her from behind. She snuggled into me and I kissed her temple and said "goodnight Bella."

She didn't respond so I figured she was asleep already. A few minutes later Bella starts to rub her backside against me making me alert. "Who said I was ready to sleep yet?" Bella said lazily and turned around and pressed herself up against me and kissed me.

I turned us over to where I was on top of her pressed into her center. "I'll do this all night if you want me to." I said as I ground myself on to her.

Bells placed her hands behind my neck and brought my face down to hers. "All night." was all she whispered as I slid myself into her again and again and again.

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><p><strong>AN: I HOPED THE LEMONADE WAS TO YOUR SATISFACTION! THIS STORY WILL HAVE A COUPLE OF LEMONS.. STORMY WATERS ARE APROACHING.. STILL WORKING ON THAT THOUGH. ANY WHO, THENK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.. PLS CONTINUE TO LEAVE REVIEWS. THAT'S WHAT MOTIVATES ME TO KEEP GOING. I KNOW THIS WAS A SHORT CHAPTER BUT IM GETTING THESE TWO MORE COMFORTABLE AROUND EACH OTHER. UNTIL NEXT TIME. PEACE OUT. 3**


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